Formerly Sir Walter Scott. Like the Twelve Pins, this is not a listed building but it is a prominent Victorian former Courage pub dominating the junction of Ennis Road and Perth Road. As the current name suggests, the décor has a rugby theme but some fine bar counters and bar-backs survive and the interior has a pleasing old-fashioned atmosphere. The separate former billiard room at the back (now dubbed “The Sin Bin”) leads to a fantastic four-tiered Swiss-chalet-styled garden. Back inside the main bar area there is a faded portrait of Minna Troila by Samuel Drummond dated 1844. The subject was a romantic character in Sir Walter Scott’s novel The Pirate. She is holding a bunch of forget-me-nots. This picture is probably a survivor of the former incarnation of the pub as the Sir Walter Scott.

The Faltering Fullback featured on the Romance, Fantasy and Nonsense: Evening Crawl of Finsbury Park and Holloway in August 2017.

The WhatPub link is here: WhatPub/Faltering Fullback